Scooby Family Christmas Tales
by boop-oop-ee-doo
Summary: A collection of Christmas one-shots set in my 'Willow's Child' Universe.
1. Sophie's First Christmas Part One

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, but I do own Sophie, baby Lily, and Echo the puppy :)

AN: This is set somewhere in-between 'Willow's Child' and 'Dawn's Magical Mishaps'.

Summary: Willow and Tara want to create the best possible first Christmas/Hanukkah for Sophie, but the little girl isn't as excited as everyone expects her to be. She doesn't think Santa Claus is coming to her..

* * *

_"You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to town! He's making a list, and checking it twice. Gotta find out who's naughty and nice, Santa Claus is coming to town.."_

Christmas carols emanated from the radio while Willow, Tara, Dawn, Faith, Buffy, and Xander decorated the Christmas tree. They were able to afford a really nice one this year. This year had brought with it a very special Christmas, as it was Sophie's first, and Tara's first since she'd been brought back to life.

_"He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake.."_

Sophie, who had been watching while her mothers and aunties attempted to free Uncle Xander from the masses of tinsel and Christmas lights that he had managed to get himself tangled in, sighed and crept up to her bedroom, pausing along the way to have a look at the menorah that Willow had set up on the mantelpiece. While she didn't really follow the religion herself these days, Willow still thought it was important for Sophie to have some idea of her Jewish heritage.

--

A little later, the Scoobies had finished placing all the breakable, possibly dangerous decorations up the top of the tree out of reach of tiny hands, they began to place the kid-friendly decorations around the lower parts of the tree.

"Hey Little Red, you wanna come help?" Faith frowned when she turned to find her young niece absent. "Where'd she go?"

"Probably up in her room" Willow sighed. "She's not as excited about Christmas as I thought she'd be."

"She probably just doesn't understand it all yet Will" said Tara. "I doubt the demons ever explained Christmas to her. Or Santa Claus. When you think about it, an old man in a red suit coming down the chimney in the middle of the night could be a pretty scary idea for a little girl."

"Especially if you believe the stuff that Anya said about him" Xander added.

"Yeah. So" said Buffy, turning to Willow, "What's tiny Jewish Santa going to bring Sophie for her first Christmas slash Hanukkah?"

"Oh, a lot of things" Willow replied smiling. "She hasn't got a lot of toys yet, so we'll get her some toys, and a couple of picture books, and there was this pretty little dress at the store that she liked..."

"A dress?!" cried Xander, as if this was the greatest evil imaginable. "A dress is clothes! You can't give a kid clothes for Christmas!"

"Sophie likes clothes!" Willow argued. "And why wouldn't she? She has been dressed in rags for most of her life you know. I was going to just by her the dress when I saw that she liked it, but then I thought it might be a nice idea for a Christmas present. That was the first time I explained Santa to her.." While Willow continued to babble, Tara decided to head upstairs and check on Sophie. She had taken to the role of mother like she was made for it, and right now all her maternal instincts were telling her that something was not quite right with her little girl.

--

"Sophie?" said Tara, knocking on her daughter's door before entering. She frowned when she saw the little girl curled up on her bed, hugging her first and currently favourite toy, Tara Bear, to her chest. She had obviously been crying. "What's wrong sweetie?" she asked rushing over to comfort her.

"Nothing" said Sophie, rolling over so that she faced away from her mother.

"It's okay if you don't understand everything about Christmas yet" said Tara. "Most kids grow up with Christmas, but this is your first one. And its okay if you're a little bit scared of Santa Claus. My brother used to be afraid of Santa when he was little. One year he just wouldn't stop crying while we were getting our photo taken with him. It's actually the only time I remember my dad being mad at him and not me."

"I'm nots scared of Santa Mama Tara" Sophie sighed, sitting up. "I'm just a little bits sad 'cause I know he's not gonna come to me."

"Why do you think that?" Tara frowned.

"Because Santa only comes to good kids, but demons maked me, and demons are bad, and they maked me so that's they could do bad things to Mommy Willow, so I must be bad too."

"Oh baby no" said Tara, pulling her daughter into her arms and hugging her tight. "That's not true at all."

"But.."

"No buts" said Tara, moving the little girl so that she was looking her in the eye. "I don't care that demons created you, or what they created you to do, and neither does your Mommy Willow. Nothing could ever make us think you were bad. And you being so worried about being bad shows just how good you are. Okay?"

"Okay Mama Tara. So.. Santa Claus is gonna come? And gives me presents like he's 'sposed to do for all the good boys and girls?"

"Definitely" Tara smiled.


	2. Sophie's First Christmas Part Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, but I do own Sophie, baby Lily, and Echo the puppy :)

AN: This is set somewhere in-between 'Willow's Child' and 'Dawn's Magical Mishaps'.

Summary: Sophie, excited about Christmas now that her Santa anxieties have been dealt with, realises that it is also Faith's first Christmas with a real family, and attempts to include her aunt in as many holiday activities as possible.

* * *

After Tara's assurance that she was a good little girl and that Santa Claus would definitely be paying her a visit come December 24, Sophie became a lot more excited about Christmas. While Willow was slightly puzzled by her daughter's sudden change in attitude, she took Tara's word that whatever the problem may have been, it was nothing to worry about anymore, and happily answered the little girl's Christmas questions. Almost all the Scoobies found themselves answering Sophie's questions, as most of them were about how they had celebrated Christmas when they were young. Willow told her daughter about how she always snuck out to Xander's house to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. Xander told her about how he had slept out side during every Christmas with his parents, though edited the story slightly to make it more suitable for young ears. Tara described how Santa Claus always hid her best presents in her mother's closet, as her father might not have wanted her to have some of them. Buffy and Dawn both wistfully recounted their childhood Christmases, eyes misting up slightly whenever one of them mentioned Joyce. When it came to Faith's turn however, the Dark Slayer began to feel very uncomfortable.

"I don't think you wanna hear about that Little Red."

"Why not?" Sophie asked.

"Because.. well, Christmas was never that great for me, because.. uh.." Faith paused, trying to think of a story that didn't involve drugs, alcohol, or perverted boyfriends. "Because my mom forgot to tell Santa Claus that she had me, so he never brought me any presents, and I never had a real Christmas." This wasn't entirely true. Faith had received visits from 'Santa' until her grandmother died when she was five. Faith, too young to understand at the time, thought that Santa didn't come because he'd decided she was a bad girl, and her mother didn't do anything to correct her. After hearing the story, Sophie paused, thinking for a moment.

"So, this is your first Christmas with a real family too, isn't it?"

"I hadn't thought about it that way, but yeah, I guess it is" Faith replied.

--

"Auntie Faith, Auntie Faith!" Sophie cried, running into the lounge a few days later.

"What is it Little Red?" asked the Dark Slayer, who was currently whittling stakes.

"Do you wants to come makes Christmas cookies with me and Mama Tara?"

"Sure" Faith replied, glad for an excuse to abandon her whittling, which she had only been doing because Buffy asked.

"Have you ever maked Christmas cookies before?" Sophie asked as she took her aunt's hand and led her towards the kitchen.

"No, can't say that I have."

"That's okay, neither have I."

--

"Hey Faith?" Tara asked, another couple of days later.

"Yeah?"

"We're taking Sophie to the mall to get her photo taken with Santa, but she wants you to be in the photo with her for some reason."

"Really?" said Faith, a little confused. "Okay then, just let me go fix myself up a bit."

--

"Auntie Faith" Sophie called, skipping over to her aunt dressed in an old, oversized t-shirt, "Me and Mommy Willow are making dreidels for Hanukkah. Do you wanna help?"

"Uh.. alright why not?" the Dark Slayer replied. "Not like I have anythin' better to do." Sophie led Faith back to the table where Willow had set things up, singing happily along the way.

"Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay, and when it's dry and ready with my dreidel I will play..."

--

"Oh Willow, you have to look at this" said Tara, handing her girlfriend the letter to Santa that she had helped her daughter write earlier that day. Willow took it and read it aloud.

"_Dear Santa Claus,_

_Will you please bring my Auntie Faith some nice presents this year, because it's her first real Christmas too._

_From Sophie._" Willow looked to Tara, smiling. "Aww. What did we do to deserve her? Is this really all she wanted?"

"Uh-huh" Tara replied, nodding.

"Then we'll just have to make her wish come true" Willow smiled.

--

Early on Christmas morning, everyone was woken by a very excited Sophie speeding through the house.

"He came, he came!" she cried happily. "Santa came!" The little girl's smile widened when she burst into her Auntie's bedroom to say Merry Christmas and spotted a sack of presents at the foot of the bed. "Auntie Faith, he came to you too! He must have gotted my letter!" She then sped out of the room, leaving a very confused Faith to read the gift tag attached to the sack.

"_To: _Faith

_From:_ Santa." She looked at her girlfriend, who was smirking. "What the hell is goin' on here B?"

"Don't ask me" said Buffy, shrugging.

--

Faith dragged the sack downstairs, where Sophie was waiting beside the Christmas tree.

"Come on Auntie Faith, we can open our presents together!" So they did, with Willow, Tara, Buffy, and Dawn looking on. Sophie received a lot of new toys, books, and the dress that Willow had talked about. Faith received a new motorbike helmet as the visor had cracked on her old one, a large set of pre-whittled stakes so she wouldn't have to worry about making more for a while, and various other gifts.

"This is the bestest Christmas ever!" Sophie declared after opening her presents. Faith couldn't help but agree.


	3. Christmas Shopping With The God King

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, but I do own Sophie, baby Lily, and Echo the puppy :)

AN: This is set about two months after 'Family Reunion'.

Summary: Angel invites the Scoobies to stay at the Hyperion over the Christmas holiday. While there, Illyria enlists the help of Faith and Sophie in finding the right presents for her two vampire companions. What happens when you take a God-King Christmas shopping? Well..

* * *

"Come on you guys, hurry up!" Buffy whined, as she, Connor, Dawn, and Sophie stood waiting out the front of the RV they had once again hired to drive everyone to L.A. "Giles and Andrew are already there, and we have to pick up Xander on the way."

"Geez Buff, calm down, we're coming" Willow called, as she and Faith helped the now seven-months pregnant Tara down the front stairs.

"Yeah" said Faith. "Big sis' here can't move as fast as she used to." Tara smiled at the use of her new nickname. It seemed like the Dark Slayer had a number of nicknames for her nowadays. Mostly, when Faith was feeling happy or playful, she was still just Blondie, but sometimes, usually when a conversation seemed more serious, she was T, and other times, like now, when the two of them were in a situation relating to or further affirming their status as sisters, she was Big sis'.

--

Before long, the gang had got themselves into the RV, picked up Xander, and were on their way to L.A. Unusually for the Scoobies, the trip was relatively uneventful, apart from one demon who'd hid in the bushes outside the diner they'd stopped at, although it turned out he was Clem's cousin and just wanted Buffy's autograph. When they reached the Hyperion, Angel, Spike, and Illyria happily greeted them, along with Giles and Andrew, who had arrived in L.A by plane the night before.

"Sorry about the tree" said Angel as he led them into the hotel, gesturing to a very sad looking Christmas tree that drooped to one side, had about a quarter of its leaves missing, and quite a few branches broken. "I guess I should have known better than to send Spike to pick it up."

"Hey!" said Spike defensively. "It wasn't my fault that all our bloody not-so-soulful undead cousins decided to ambush me on the way home!"

"I guess not" Angel admitted. "But you could have at least tried to take the fight away from the tree."

--

A little while later, after Angel had showed everyone the rooms he had set up for them, Sophie was sitting in the lobby playing tea party with her toys when a familiar blue skinned God-King approached her.

"Hello Illyria" Sophie smiled. "Do you want to play too?"

"Actually, child, I require a favour."

"Um.. okay. What?"

"The half-breed Spike has informed me that it is customary to exchange gifts on this day you call Christmas" said Illyria. "I wish to participate in these customs, but do not know what type of gift would please the half-breeds. You are my friend child. Will you accompany me to the place of trading called the mall and assist me?" Sophie thought for a moment.

"I'll haves to ask my Mommies first, but okay" she replied. "We should take Auntie Faith too, she'll knows what Uncle Angel likes."

--

"Damn, what have you gone and got us into now Little Red?" asked Faith, holding the little girl's hand as they followed Illyria, disguised as Fred, through the mall the next day. The God-King was staring at a list of present ideas that the Dark Slayer had written out the day before to ensure that this shopping trip was over as soon as possible. "Seriously, I've got a really bad feelin' about this."

"Why?" asked Sophie. Suddenly, they heard a commotion inside the record store they had walked into, and looked up to see that Illyria had knocked an old man to the ground in her efforts to obtain the last copy of a 'Barry Manilow: Greatest Hits' CD, and that she wasn't going to hold back as some security guards attempted to subdue her.

"That, for a start!" Faith groaned, rushing over to try and bring the situation under control. If any of the other Scoobies had been present, they may have laughed at the fact the Dark Slayer was now the one attempting to stop the conflict rather than causing it.

--

Faith managed to get Illyria off the hook by convincing the security guards that they had her out on day release from a Mental Institution, and promising to take her away from the mall right away.

"Why did you say those untruths Slayer? I could have dispatched of those humans easily!"

"Yeah, and then ya would have been on the run from the Senior Partners and the Police" said Faith. "Angel's got enough to deal with at the moment with out worryin' about that too."

"You may have a valid point, Slayer" Illyria grudgingly admitted. "But now how am I to obtain gifts for the half-breeds?

"I knows what to get them!" Sophie cried excitedly.

--

"Bloody hell, Bluebird" said Spike as he stared at the beautiful pine that stood where the half-destroyed tree had been a few hours before. "It was really nice of ya to replace the Christmas tree after I.. I mean, those other sodding vamps, trashed the first one. Where'd you get that idea?" Illyria glanced over at Sophie, who was sitting nearby drawing, and a small half-smile spread over face.

"A friend."


	4. Very Special Presents, Part One

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, but I do own Sophie, baby Lily, and Echo the puppy :)

Summary: Christmas is fast approaching at the Hyperion, and members of both the Scoobies and the Fang Gang are going to recieve some very special gifts.

* * *

It was late night on the 23rd of December, and Sophie was curled up between her mothers, sleeping. Angel had prepared a separate room for the little girl, but sleeping in a strange room, in a bed that was really quite a bit too big for her, frightened Sophie a little, so Willow and Tara decided that it was probably best to just keep her with them. Sophie smiled in her sleep. She was having a very nice dream..

--

_"Cordelia!" Sophie cried happily, running into the Power's open arms. "I haven't seed you since Halloween!"_

_"I know kiddo, I've been pretty busy" said Cordelia. "See, I thought of a really nice Christmas present for everyone, but I needed to convince the other powers to let me do it first. I want to tell you what it is, but you have to promise to keep it a secret, okay?"_

_"Okay" Sophie replied. Cordelia smiled, then whispered her plan. Sophie's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea!"_

--

Early the next day, Christmas Eve, Buffy frowned as she walked alone through a park near the Hyperion. She had left Faith to sleep in. At the thought of Faith Buffy's frown deepened, though this had nothing to do with the Dark Slayer herself. No, the problem was that she just could not seem to think of a perfect Christmas present for her girlfriend. She had some presents for her already, but none of them were really that great, and Buffy had only really bought them out of fear of having no presents for Faith at all. Willow and Tara's Santa act last year had been a wonderful gesture, but they had used up all of Buffy's possible present ideas. The slayer continued thinking about this until someone called out to her.

"Buffy!" came a voice. Buffy turned around, taking a few moments to recognise the young woman now heading towards her.

"Anne" said Buffy, smiling at the girl who was the only real friend she'd made during the Summer when she'd run away to L.A . "You are still Anne right, you haven't gone and changed your name again?"

"No, I think I'm probably gonna stay Anne now. So, what brings you back to L.A?"

"My friend Angel invited me and some other friends to spend Christmas with him" Buffy replied.

"Uh, by Angel" said Anne, lowering her voice, "Do you mean vampire with a soul, helping the helpless Angel?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah" said Buffy, a little confused as to how the other woman knew about the vamp.

"He's helped me out a bit with the shelter I run for homeless kids" Anne replied. She gestured over to a large patch of grass where a group of teenagers were standing around a couple of wire pens containing several different types of puppies. "We came here today with some dogs we've rescued from shelters and puppy mills. We're trying to find good homes for all of them." Suddenly, a conversation she had once had with Faith, though not a particularly pleasant one at the time, came into Buffy's mind, and this gave her an idea.

"Hey, can I have a look at them?"

--

"Angel!" Buffy hissed, beating on the ensouled vamp's bedroom door. "Angel!"

"Buffy? What is it?" said Angel, frowning when he opened the door to see the slayer carrying a small Border collie in one arm and a bag packed full of pet care items slung over the other. "Why do you have a puppy?"

"Isn't he adorable?" Buffy smiled. "He's Faith's Christmas present, she always wanted a dog remember?" She pushed the pup into Angel's arms, along with the bag of supplies.

"Hang on, what are you doing?"

"I need you to keep him hidden for me until tomorrow."

"But.." Angel began to protest.

"Please?" said Buffy, gazing at the vamp with pleading eyes. "You're the only one I can trust not to blow the surprise."

"Oh, alright" Angel sighed. Buffy squealed.

"Thanks Angel!" she cried, giving the vamp a quick kiss on the cheek before running off down the hall. Angel looked down at the puppy, who yipped happily at him, before sighing again.

"Women really have too much power over me.."

--

On Christmas morning, as they all watched Sophie opening her presents, Buffy felt the excitement rising up inside her. Angel had given her a thumbs up as he came downstairs to indicate that the pup was still safely hidden in his room. Sophie was excited too both about her own presents from Santa and Cordelia's special present for everyone that only she knew about. After the little girl had opened her presents, the adults began exchanging gifts. Most of Willow and Tara's presents weren't so much for them as their impending new arrival, but they didn't mind. Although one matter troubled Willow slightly.

"Are you sure she's really gonna be _that _small?" she asked, holding up a tiny pink jumpsuit.

"Yes, Will" Tara smiled as she gave her wife a kiss on the cheek. "They wouldn't make clothes that small if she wasn't." Xander received a number of custom made eye-patches, and some new tools. Connor tried to give Dawn a spell book, but this was quickly confiscated. Faith gave Buffy a beautiful little silver charm bracelet.

"I got it made specially for ya B" said Faith, feeling a little awkward, as Buffy gazed in awe at the bracelet. "See, that's 'sposed to be a stake, and there's a cross, and a little bottle of holy water, and some garlic, and a wolf because of the time Dawn turned me into one.. It's got all the things that are supposed to protect you, ya know?"

"I know Faith, it's beautiful" Buffy smiled, kissing her girlfriend. She glanced at the pile of somewhat mediocre gifts in Faith's lap. "I've got one more surprise for you. Close your eyes."

"Um.. Okay." Faith, though slightly confused, did as she was told.

"And no peeking!" Buffy quickly crept upstairs and retrieved the puppy, placing a finger to her lips to shush the other scoobies, who's jaws dropped when she came back down. Then, she gently placed the pup in her girlfriend's lap."Okay Faith, you can open your eyes now." The Dark Slayer's face broke into a huge smile when she saw a puppy in her lap, wearing a red ribbon tied around it's neck. Though she had half been expecting this, it wasn't hard to carry out her future self's orders to act surprised.

"Damn, B! You actually got me a puppy?" The pup yipped happily and jumped up at Faith, already seeming to know who its master was.

"You did say you always wanted a dog" Buffy smiled.

"Yeah, but wow!" said Faith, lifting the pup so she could inspect it closer, grinning when he licked her nose. "You're a cute little guy aren't ya. Hang on.. he is a guy!"

"Yeah.." said Buffy, not getting her girlfriend's point.

"Why'd you make him wear this stupid ribbon then?" Faith cried, tugging at it. "Don't worry buddy, I'll get it off, must be embarrassin' for ya.." Before Faith could become fully engaged in this task however, their came a flash of white light from over near the Christmas tree..

* * *

AN: Stay tuned for part 2!


	5. Very Special Presents, Part Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, but I do own Sophie, baby Lily, and Echo the puppy :)

Summary: Christmas is fast approaching at the Hyperion, and members of both the Scoobies and the Fang Gang are going to receive some very special gifts.

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" a familiar voice cried as the light cleared to reveal Cordelia and all the other dearly departed Scooby and Fang gang members standing by the Christmas tree. "The other Powers are letting us visit for the day!" The living Scoobies all stared, slack-jawed, except for Sophie who giggled, and the new puppy who yipped and wagged his tail. "Oh come on" Cordy rolled her eyes after a few more seconds. "After the time we gatecrashed Willow and Tara's wedding you can't be that surprised."

"You're right, we shouldn't" Tara smiled, breaking the silence from the other side of the room. "I'd get up and hug you, but it might take me awhile to get over there."

"Nah, I'll come to you" Cordelia laughed. Now that Tara had broken the ice, everyone else relaxed too, and happily greeted their friends.

--

As far as most of the gang were concerned, this visit was one of the best gifts any of them had ever received. Angel was happy to be reunited with the rest of the Fang gang. Joyce was just as elated about spending Christmas day with her girls as they were about spending it with her. She was currently sizing up Connor, deciding whether she approved of him.. Faith, after managing to remove the puppy's, who she had decided to name Echo since he yipped everytime she or anyone spoke to him, bow, she and Kendra continued their debate about slaying techniques that they had started on Willow and Tara's wedding day. Despite a slight awkwardness between them, it was obvious to everyone that Xander and Anya were happy to see each other. Giles was just pleased to have Jenny's company for awhile, no matter how short. And of course, members of the group continuously filtered over to rub Tara's swollen belly and offer their congratulations to she and Willow. Lily seemed to be in a particularly accomadating mood today, letting everybody feel her kick. Sophie, however, noticed that a certain God-King had once again disappeared from the gathering. When she thought about it, it seemed strange that somebody with bright blue skin and hair could so easily slip away unnoticed. The little girl made her way over to Spike, the only member of the group not currently with one of their visitors, but still watching them all with a fond expression.

"Uncle Spike, do you knows where Illyria is? I wanted to thank her for my present." Sophie held up a small bluebird plush toy, and Spike couldn't help but smile. He had helped the God-King choose this present.

"Now that ya mention it Little Red, I haven't seen her for awhile" He looked around, frowning when he noticed that she was in fact missing. "Oy!" Spike stood and called into the chattering group. "Anybody seen Big Blue around?" Shakes of the head and negative replies came from the group.

"We gots to find her!" cried Sophie. "Nobody should be alone on Christmas!"

"You're right" said Fred as she broke away from the Fang gang, startling Spike with her next words. "I'll help you look for her."

"Uh, thanks pet" Spike replied, accepting the physicist's unexpected offer. "It's real nice of you."

--

And so, the search party of Spike, Fred, and Sophie set off. It didn't take them long to find the missing God-King, as it turned out she had just been sitting alone in her bedroom.

"What're you doin' up here by yourself Big Blue?" Spike asked. "Come back down and join the party."

"I have no place there" Illyria replied.

"Why do you think that?" Spike frowned.

"The day of Christmas is a time for family" said Illyria. "I do not have one."

"Yes you do!" Sophie cried. "You're part of our family!" Illyria remained silent, seemingly unmoved by the little girl's words. At this point, Fred spoke up.

"You know, a lot of people think of family as just your blood relatives. So, us, this little group we've got going, would look to most people like just a bunch of misfits who've managed to find each other. And we are, but we're also a family, and you're a part of it now just as much as I am." Fred offered her hand to Illyria, who looked up, her icy blue eyes meeting Fred's soft brown ones. Though it may not have seemed like it, the God-King had changed a lot since her return to the Earth. But this, forgiveness and acceptance from the woman who was least obliged to give it, meant more to her than all of these changes combined. So, she took Fred's hand.

"Let us return to the party."

--

From there, the festivities continued without further trouble. Cordy was able to ensure that there was plenty of Christmas dinner for everyone. Late in the afternoon, Sophie settled between her parents on the couch, yawning.

"Merry Christmas, Mommy Willow, Merry Christmas, Mama Tara." She leaned down and kissed Tara's stomach. "Merry Christmas, Lily."

"Merry Christmas Sophie" Willow whispered, stroking her daughter's hair as she fell asleep.


	6. The Meaning Of Boxing Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, but I do own Sophie, baby Lily, and Echo the puppy :)

Summary: This one is just a little idea I came up with, inspired by my own discovery of what 'Boxing Day' meant when I was younger.

* * *

It was Boxing day at the Hyperion. Most of the Scoobies were packing their bags for the trip home the following day, Angel and Spike were sleeping in to make up for their usual nocturnal schedule being interrupted, Illyria was off God only knew where, and Faith and Sophie were watching T.V, with Echo curled up between them on the couch.

"Auntie Faith, why is today called Boxing Day?" Sophie asked.

"Um.." Faith, relatively new to celebrating a traditional Christmas, was stumped. "I don't know, Little Red. When I was a kid I thought they must have had boxin' on T.V all day" she paused and flipped through the channels. "Nope, not that. Let's go ask your Moms."

--

So, the trio(Faith had picked up the sleeping Echo and brought him with them so no-one would accidentally sit on the pup while she was gone) headed upstairs, to the room where Willow and Tara were currently packing their bags.

"Hey Red, Blondie, either of you know why today's called Boxin' Day?"

"Uh.." Tara thought for a moment. "No, I don't."

"And I've only celebrated Christmas for the last couple of years, so I never had any reason to know" said Willow.

"Okay, let's go asks Auntie Buffy" said Sophie.

--

"I don't know either" said Buffy, after the group, now with Willow and the heavily pregnant Tara in tow, asked their question. "But I think I remember Mom explaining it when I was younger. Let's go ask Dawn if she remembers."

--

Before long, the party had grown to include Dawn, Connor, Xander, and Andrew. Nobody wanted to disturb Angel or Spike, both of whom were still sleeping, and Illyria, even if they had known where she was, wouldn't have had anymore knowledge than they did. This left only one more person to ask.

"Hey, G-man!" Faith called, knocking on the Watcher's door. Giles emerged from the room, surprised to see the large group assembled outside of it.

"Good Lord, are we being attacked?"

"No" said Sophie. "We just wanted to know why today is called Boxing Day."

"Oh" said Giles, cleaning his glasses. "Well, traditionally, Boxing Day is the day that all the discarded packaging from Christmas presents is gathered and thrown out."

"Oh" said Sophie. The rest of the group looked around at each other.

"Is there a problem?" Giles asked.

"Not really" said Faith. "It's just that after all the time we spent searchin' for it, that answer is kind of anti-climactic."


End file.
